RDU flights casualties of blizzard

Monday

Mar 13, 2017 at 6:16 PMMar 13, 2017 at 6:17 PM

By Ron Gallagher The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) (TNS)

RALEIGH — Snow falling in the upper Midwest on Monday and a blizzard expected to begin affecting the mid-Atlantic region and New England on Monday night and for most of the day Tuesday was piling up airline flight cancellations at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Hollie Allen, an RDU spokeswoman, said that as of late morning Monday, officials knew of 11 weather-related cancellations for Monday night.

For Tuesday, Allen said, airlines had told RDU that 35 flights from weather-affected airports were canceled and 32 flights to places in the storm’s path were scrubbed.

RDU’s website lists the status of arrivals and departures, and RDU always advises travelers to check there and with their airline before going to the airport.

Flightaware.com, a website that provides flight information and tracking, showed at midday Monday morning that 35 flights out of RDU on Tuesday were already canceled along with 41 inbound flights.

Delta Airlines posted a note on its website that warned that travel to and from 30 cities from Pennsylvania to Quebec could be affected Tuesday and Wednesday.

Southwest Airlines listed RDU as one airport it expected to be affected on Monday. The company listed 18 others likely to be affected Tuesday and Wednesday.

Airlines were saying they would allow travelers to rescheduled flights without paying a penalty for the next several days.

In Boston, the National Weather Service said snow was expected to start about 7 a.m. Tuesday and go until late in the night. As much as 20 inches of snow was in the forecast.

In New York City, the forecast called for snow to begin Monday night and fall through Tuesday night. Forecasters put the maximum snowfall there at about 21 inches.